Wednesday, May 28, 2008

For my birthday, one of my co-workers gave me a gift certificate to a nail salon. I decided to use it during my lunch break today for a pedicure, which my abnormally fleshy toes desperately needed. I was really looking forward to it, both for the aesthetically pleasing outcome and for the few minutes of relaxation to be experienced in the process. There was no wait, so I headed directly to the monstrous massaging pedicure chair, which had already been turned on for me. I love the massaging chairs; that is, when I can get the massage wheels in the right position so that they don’t turn into a groping & poking fest. I was sitting there, my head leaning restfully on the headrest, massage wheels in perfect position.

After just a few moments, something didn’t feel right. What is that uncomfortable feeling? My bra? It must be twisted. The dreadful thought came to me: the possibility that one of my removable straps came loose. No…that wasn’t it; both straps were securely in place. So I sat back to relax again. “Ok, something is definitely not right,” I thought. I reached back, and to my utter dismay, found that my bra had come unhooked! This perverted massage chair molested me & unhooked my bra! My first thought: I am impressed at the finger-like abilities of the massage wheels in this massive chair. My second thought: how in the world am I going to inconspicuously fasten my bra? My feet were already in the warm bubbling water of the pedicure spa, so I couldn’t get up & go to the restroom. Should I just leave it detached? Out of the question. I reached around to my back with both hands and attempted to hook the bra from outside my shirt. No such luck. How in the world am I going to accomplish this feat? I discreetly looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to me. Of course not – Guiding Light was on the TV, demanding the attention of all 4 customers in the salon. So I reached up the back of my shirt with both hands, pretending to have an itch in a very unfortunate spot, and tried to hook my bra. {Key word: tried.} Why is it that my bra came so easily unhooked by this blasted massage chair, and I, with my opposable thumbs and jointed fingers, cannot hook it back into place??? This is a catastrophe. I could NOT get the stupid thing hooked, and I had decided it was just going to have to remain that way until I got back to the office, where I could undress in the restroom and resolve this calamity.

After sitting back & resting a few minutes in order to get my frustration under control, I decided to attempt the impossible once more. I reached under my shirt with both hands, and, after several failed attempts, FINALLY got one of the two hooks latched. Hallelujah! Salvation had come. I no longer faced the humiliation of the walk of shame through the salon, bra dangling underneath my shirt, leaving the girls unsupported and begging for reinforcement. Thank you, Namaste-hands-behind-the-back yoga pose. Thank you.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Early last Thursday morning, Baron's stepdad, Spiro Drookas, passed away. Those of you who knew Spiro will agree that he is one of the kindest men around. We will miss him terribly, but he is now cancer-free and in the presence of his heavenly father. Thank you all so much for your prayers for the family. Please continue to pray for Jane as she adjusts to life as a widow. Pray for Spiro's daughters as they mourn, for the second time in their lives, the loss of a parent.

Below is a picture that represents one of Spiro's wonderful characteristics: his hospitality. Everyone was welcome at Spiro's house, even for a Y102 pool party! :-) I am blessed to have known Spiro, and I thank God that I have such great memories of him.

Monday, May 19, 2008

I recently came across this scripture and it really spoke to me because of where I am in my life. We usually use this passage for its focus on prayer, but I want you to pay special attention to the second half of this, which focuses on the benefits we reap from our faith in God through prayer.

Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers & requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think & feel. ~Philippians 4:6,7

Monday, May 12, 2008

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."

He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.

He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. {Matthew 15:21-28}

Yesterday at church, we heard a great sermon based on the above passage. With it being Mothers’ Day, the main point of Brad’s lesson was that this mother loved her daughter enough to beg Jesus, with persistence, to heal her demon possession. However, since I am not yet a mother, I benefitted more from another point that Brad made.

It seems odd that Jesus would ignore this woman. When we read this passage yesterday, I was confused because it almost seems like Jesus is annoyed with her, and he doesn’t want to have anything to do with her because she is a Canaanite. Of course this doesn’t seem like the Jesus we know, right? Why did he act that way? Why, when she was begging him to help her, did it seem like he didn’t even hear her in the beginning? Wasn’t he listening? And when he did acknowledge her, it seemed at first like his answer would be “no”. Notice the last statement he gives her: “Woman, you have great faith…” Her faith was strengthened in this short little passage. When it seemed like Jesus wouldn’t give her the time of day, she had faith that if she asked, he would answer. And she had the persistence to act on that faith.

Why, when I am begging Jesus to help me, does it seem like he doesn’t even hear me? Isn’t he listening? Oftentimes when I pray for something, I ask these questions. I then have to remind myself {rather, force myself to remember} that God is in control {Romans 8:28}, and he is strengthening my faith through my prayer life. He will answer my prayers eventually. It may or may not be in the way I want them answered {in this particular story, the Canaanite woman got exactly what she wanted} but he is listening & he is not ignoring me.

Monday, May 05, 2008

I'm not necessarily a strong advocate of the whole global warming/go green/carbon credits fad, but I do think it's important to take care of our planet. I am not the best at it, but I do at least refrain from polluting, etc...you know - the easy stuff. Well, I've recently adopted two new habits that will help the planet AND save money at the same time!

A few weeks ago, I decided to try some of the energy saver light bulbs. I got the ones that you put in your lamps, and I love them! I actually like the light better than regular incandescent bulbs. AND...they are supposed to last us 7 years! You can't beat that. We also recently had to replace two of our recessed bulbs (finally - for the first time since we moved in), and we used energy saver halogen bulbs for those also.

Second on my list of "go green" - I started carpooling this week. Me and 3 of my fellow Prattvillian co-workers are carpooling to work in Montgomery every day. Each person will only have to drive one week of each month. Talk about saving money! Of course the decrease in gas expense was my #1 motivator, but we'll also be helping the environment.

I hope this post doesn't seem "braggy" - because I am not by any means doing what I should be to help the environment - but I wanted to mention these two things in case you're like me & you just need ideas of what you can do. These are two small but beneficial ways to help, and just think of the impact (environmentally and financially) if everyone did "small" things like these! Maybe this will be my next step in the process of going green:

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Ladies and gentlemen, I hold in my hands (ok actually on my computer) the cure for infertility! My dad passed along this recipe that an elderly woman from church gave him 20 or so years ago. I can't WAIT to try this!!!